The atmosphere in an indoor swimming pool environment is very moisture laden, and it is extremely important to protect your pool building from this humidity in the air. If not removed, water vapour, and in particular, the chlorinated water vapour of a swimming pool environment, can severely damage the structure of the pool building, causing it to rot and corrode (and potentially collapse) in a very short space of time. The presence of vapour also allows mould and bacteria to rapidly accumulate, leading to an unpleasant swimming environment and potentially causing health issues. In order to combat this and maintain a mould-free pool hall, dehumidification and ventilation are absolutely essential.

Simply opening windows within the pool hall is not a sufficient way of ventilating the building, and can allow a great deal of heat to escape - costing you more money in heating bills. The most effective solution is to purchase an inexpensive dehumidifer which will do an excellent job of drying the air and recovering heat from the water vapour. A dehumidifier allows you to control the relative humidity level (RH level) - the recommended standard is 50-60%.

How does a dehumidifier work?

We offer two basic types of dehumidifiers: compressor dehumidifiers and desiccant dehumidifiers.

Compressor Dehumidifiers are very effective systems. Functioning much like a refrigerator, compressor dehumidifiers collect the air from inside the pool hall and pass it over cooled coils to condense the vapour. The vapour is collected in a tank which is then emptied when full. Please see Meaco Compressor Dehumidifiers.

Compressor Dehumidifiers with Integrated Heat Recovery Ventilationcan offer up to 70% heat recovery from the stale pool air.Rather than recycling the same air over and over again, these systems simultaneously extract air from inside and supply fresh air from outside. A heat recovery ventilation unit has two fans, one in, and one out. The two air streams pass on either side of an efficient air heat exchanger, which transfers a high proportion of the heat from the warm but stale air going out, to the cold fresh air coming in. Please see Vent-Axia Dehumidifiers.

Compressor Dehumidifiers with Low Pressure Hot Water (LPHW) Batteries are capable of heating the pool hall air via hot water from a boiler, without the need for separate fan heaters or radiators. This is an extremely cost effective way to heat your pool hall if you have a hot water boiler located nearby. Please see Vaporex Dehumidifiers, Monitair Dehumidifiers & Variheat Dehumidifiers.

Desiccant Dehumidifiers work very differently to compressor dehumidifiers. These systems ultilise a desiccant material to absorb water vapour from the air. This type of dehumidifier can be useful in low temperatures down to 0oC, and they are also lighter and quieter than compressor-type units. Please see Meaco Desiccant Dehumidifiers.

Please note that for best results, pools should always have a thermal cover on when not in use. Although the pool hall air temperature can be set back to lower values when the pool is unused, the air heating should be set about 2°C higher than the water temperature when the pool is uncovered. If the air is allowed to drop below 17°C for any significant time, then defrost dehumidifier options should be considered.

We offer a free, no obligation discussion and computer analysis of your air handling requirements - please call us on 0208 941 6618 or email us!